It’s time to part ways…

After a year of holding on to my WP Thyroid medication, it’s time for us to part ways; it’s time to move on and I’m ready for the next chapter.

A little over a year ago, I received the news that I was officially in remission with Hashimoto’s (an autoimmune thyroid disorder) and I could quit my medication, just 7 months after receiving my diagnosis!

This was a HUGE milestone!

There is a misconception out there about medication, once prescribed you’ll always need it, but that’s not always the case. As my mentor, Reed Davis (the founder of Functional Diagnostic Nutrition) says, “the general principles of health will always outperform specific treatments.”

When I initially received my diagnosis back in October 2016, it felt as though the cards were stacked high against me for a quick recovery. Just months prior to my diagnosis I had discovered toxic mold in my home, which led to a hormonal imbalance in my body known as estrogen dominance.

Within weeks after receiving my diagnosis, a home mold test showed the extent and severity of the mold was much more than I had even anticipated.

To top it off, within the same week of finding mold in my office, my mom also passed away. My body was taking a beating from all of the physical and emotional stress, remission seemed far-fetched.

I had a collaborative conversation with my Naturopath and made a conscious decision to take thyroid medication to acutely support my body in its time of need. In addition, I committed to doing the work that need to be done to rebuild my health using diet, rest, exercise, stress reduction, toxin removal and supplementation so I could get off the medication as quickly as possible.

One year later I’m still in remission, medication free but still holding onto it.

I’ve been hanging onto my thyroid medication as back up, “just in case” I wake up one day not feeling like myself again. But the truth is I’ve been feeling like myself again for a while, despite not always being perfect in my food or lifestyle choices, because I’ve created the space for my body to heal AND because my body and I have a stronger relationship than ever before

Part of healing from any health condition is learning to trust your body again. Competitive athletes are great examples of this.

Competitive athletes may never get back in the game even after weeks of physical therapy and hours of field practice post injury, if they don’t get their mindset right and learn to trust their body again – learn to trust their leg, arm or whatever body part was injured to do its job and support their play.

If they’re always second guessing whether their body is going to work for them or not, their head will never be back in the game.

I’ve also been learning to trust my body again so I can play my best in the game of life.

Trusting that one bite, one drink, one intense workout or one late night won’t throw me into a thyroid talespin again. Trusting myself to make good decisions in any given moment that best support my health, and to not go back to the ways which burdened my body. Trusting that it’s possible to live life to the fullest while being the healthiest version of me.

In this week’s video and blog I share more about getting over my fear, giving up my thyroid medication crutch and this new chapter of my health journey.

Fear can be a limiting factor when it comes to your health.

Fear of not fitting in or being “that person” at dinner might hold you back from changing your diet or making food choices to support your health.

Fear of being judged as someone who doesn’t work hard enough or as a slacker might prevent you back from creating healthy boundaries around work and making yourself more of a priority.

Fear of being seen as weak if you go for a walk instead of run, or don’t lift heavy in the gym might encourage you to push your limits and stress your body more than you should.

Fear of not meeting a deadline, losing connection with your partner or being a party-pooper might keep you up late and rob your body of the critical sleep it needs to function properly.

Fear of a Hashimoto’s and mold illness relapse kept me hanging onto a thyroid medication I didn’t need, and questioning the safety of my home for way longer that I probably should have.

And not trusting that my body could remain healthy on its own fueled my fear.

To be quite honest, I felt limited- I held back from doing things that might have made me happy or given me joy because I was afraid of what might happen to my health if I did.

Getting past fear and trusting my body again gave me freedom.

This might come off as a little too “woo-woo” for some of you, or as if I’m some kind of spiritual gangster, but as a result of my own experience I do believe that part of healing the physical body involves healing the mind and believing.

Believing you can be healthy.

Trusting that your body has your back.

Having faith that what seems impossible, is possible.

Knowing your body wants to be in balance, and if you work together you can get there.

There’s two parts of the work I do with clients. One part science, with all the fancy functional lab tests along with a specific and strategic health re-building plan.

And one part mindset. Learning how to be different because part of who you are being is either helping or hindering your health.

Like I always say… “Healthy is a way of being, not doing.”

It’s not just about doing all the “healthy things” and going through the motions. Healthy is about learning to live differently to support your health.

If you change your diet but don’t change the relationship or how you perceive food, you’ll easily revert back to your old ways.

If you adopt a new exercise routine but hate it, you’ll soon find an excuse not to do it.

If being fat, sick and tired all the time is all you know, or all you’ve known for a long time, you may not know how to think or act differently.

I’ve been in your shoes, I’ve had the same struggles too. And I’ve put in the work to change it. This is how I know I’m ready to say goodbye to WP Thyroid. I can trust my body and know it can trust me too.

Getting rid of my thyroid medication is like kicking off the training wheels of a bike. I’m ready to ride on my own because I know if I hit a bump in the road I’ll regain my balance. If I fall off I can get back up. If I lose my way, I can find it again. And no matter what happens, if I trust my bike to get me somewhere, the places I can go are limitless.

I’m ready to just be healthy. Not with a side of Hashimoto’s, medication or mold illness. Just healthy and just me.

If you’re ready to just be healthy, even if you don’t know how to get there, then I’m ready to be your guide so you can actually fix what is wrong and get back to feeling like yourself again (or for the very first time!).